To the delight of fans worldwide, the second part of “Cobra Kai’s final season has finally arrived with the next five episodes. When we last left Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), and their students—Miguel Diaz (Xolo Maridueña), Robby Keene (Tanner Buchanan), Samantha LaRusso (Mary Mouser), Demetri (Gianni Decenzo), Hawk (Jacob Bertrand), and Devon (Oona O’Brien)—they got the shock of a lifetime.
Former ally Tory (Peyton List) had joined up with the villainous Sensei Kim Dae-Un (Hannah Kepple) and John Kreese (Martin Kove) of the Cobra Kai dojo to compete in the Sekai Taikai—the world karate championships. Season Six Part 2 picks right after the reveal and immediately thrusts us into tournament action. One of the things I’ll commend the second half of Season Six for is that they don’t give the well-known Dojos plot armor and raise the stakes.
One particular formidable foe arrives in the form of The Iron Dragon dojo led by Sensei Wolf (Lewis Tan) and his star pupils Axel (Patrick Luwis) and Zara Malik (Rayna Vallandingham). All three make for formidable foes and kept me invested so much that I wouldn’t mind an expanded universe short film focusing on them.
The fight scenes are more aggressive this go-round but at the expense of some of the story. At the same time, Ralph Macchio gives it his all, his subplot of investing Miyagi’s past drug a bit for my taste. Thankfully, the writer’s room finds an organic way for Kenny (Dallas Dupree Young) and Chozen (Yuji Okumoto) to return, along with a fan favorite I won’t reveal.
Since the men in their lives compete, Amanda (Courtney Henggeler) and Carmen (Vanessa Rubio) are neglected to roles as supportive spouses and girlfriends. As for the students, when they aren’t competing, they get the typical plot lines any high school show would get when you place the characters in a fish-out-of-water scenario.
While “Cobra Kai Season Six Part 2” doesn’t top the first entry of the final season, the final moments of episode 10 go somewhere I didn’t think the series ever would, and I can’t wait to see the final episodes in 2025.
Final Grade: B
Part 2 of “Cobra Kai” Six is available to stream on Friday, November 15.
Growing up in the nineties, movies aimed at a melanin audience often featured soundtracks that had to be just as flavorful as the films themselves. This week, for Slow Jam Saturday, I want to take a trip back to 1993 and highlight one of the slow jams from the soundtrack of “Menace II Society”.
Last week marked two significant anniversaries for one of the greatest artists of all time, Mr. Prince Rogers Nelson. It’s only fitting that I show him some love for Second Listen Sunday. The first anniversary was on the 21st, commemorating nine years since his passing. The second anniversary was on the 22nd, celebrating the 40th anniversary of his seventh studio album, “Around the World in a Day.”
One of my most significant decisions late last year was to pledge to Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. At the time of this writing, I am in Atlantic City for my fraternity’s Regional Conference, where I will represent my chapter, Beta Alpha Omega. In that regard, I believe the perfect song for this week’s Slow Jam Saturday is “The Best Man I Can Be.”